Questions about my new Nuvo 10 gallon

[thatbro92]

Hi, everyone! After a couple years of daydreaming about getting into the hobby, I finally have my first tank set up. I'm using 10lb of dry rock for the cycle as well as 5lb of live sand. Due to disparity in shipping time between my tank+equipment and my sea salt+RO/DI system, I used Nutri-Seawater to fill the tank. (Yes, I know it's technically a waste of money, but it'll be the only time I ever have to purchase saltwater once the salt and RO/DI system come in.) Additionally, I added Bio Spira to the tank and phantom fed the tank some pellet food to get some ammonia in there. I have a few questions, some of which weren't answered effectively on YouTube:

1. Looking at the attached image of my tank (forgive the slight cloudiness, it was still dissipating when I took the picture), what would be the best location to place my powerhead for best flow?

2. Bio Spira and Nutri-Seawater both claim to make tanks immediately fish-ready. How true is this? Even if it is, I still intend to wait until at least tomorrow afternoon to give the tank a full 24 hours before adding livestock of any kind.

3. What would be a proper lighting schedule for this tank? I have a Wavepoint 9" 18 watt LED.

4. Obviously, you never want to add more than one fish during/right after the cycle...but does the same logic apply to the cleanup crew? To be specific, if I get one clownfish, would adding a cleanup crew at the same time negatively affect the tank? Also, what would be a reasonably-sized cleanup crew for a 10 gallon?

5. Same as above, but replace "cleanup crew" with corals.

Thank you! I look forward to learning the ins and outs of this hobby one step at a time!

 

[etmanning1]

Slowwwwwww down, nothing comes quickly in this hobby.

Make sure you get that RODI working before you go and start adding livestock to the rank, you'll want to be able to make emergency water if needed.

Even though the products claim "instant cycling" you really need to wait at a bare minimum a couple weeks before adding anything living ( unless you have ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate test kits and are testing daily with large regular WCs)

I'd start by waiting a month to let the tank cycle, leave your lights off to prevent an algae outbreak and do weekly water changes while ghost feeding a bit.

Note on yhe clown as well, they're really too big to be properly housed in a 10g. I'd personally go with a yasha goby and shrimp pair for that tank and maybe a single chromis if you are able to keep your nutrients in check.


What are you doing for top off? I'd recommend an ATO to everyone, especially In such a small tank that will have larger salinity swings.

For lighting like I said leave it off for a month long cycle. UT after that I'd recommend starting with a 10 hour photo period and increasing to a max of 14 hours a day.

CUC for a 10g should be very small, maybe 5 nassarius snails, a single Mexican turbo, a few ceriths or dwarf ceriths, and the various brittle stars and bristle worms that will make their way into your tank should be more than enough.


Good luck with everything and I'm sorry if I sound overly critical I just don't want you to rush things and end up with an unsuccessful tank. Let us know if you have any other questions.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Welcome to R2R!

+1 on moving slow.

You may be cycled quickly, but that does not mean the rocks are mature. Bacteria is one thing, but biodiversity is another. If it were my tank, and this is all just my opinion, I would do the following.

• turn the light off for a month at least
• add some copepods, worms and mini starfish (from IPSF.com, algaebarn.com, reefcleaners.org, etc.)
• you can add a small clean up crew soon after

You want those critters to multiply and fill the rocks and sand. They will help mature the system. The longer you wait the more mature and diverse. After a month or more, add a fish. I may even still keep lights out, but allow ambient light. Then, after some time, start thinking about corals if that is your goal. Then I would start using the LED light.

Again, this is just how I would do it. You have sterile rock right now and the tank volume is small. The more mature and diverse you can get your system in the early days, the more likely you find long term success. Patience is everything in this hobby.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Also, there are many options for a single powerhead. Some say blow the surface for gas exchange (a skimmer will also provide gas exchange if you use one). Some say blow low to kick up detritus (may blow sand around, though). Some will use multiple powerheads to accomplish multiple tasks and/or create turbulence. In a small tank like yours a good starting point may be to put it on the side and blow toward the overflow where the water goes into the rear chambers. All just food for thought.